Not enough data on booster shot yet, says AIIMS chief

All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) director Randeep Guleria on Saturday said that India does not enough data to ascertain if it needs a booster shot to double the protection against the deadly COVID-19. However, he maintained that more information regarding the same will be available next year.

While several countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, are going forward with the third booster shot, Dr Guleria said that Indian data does raise an alert to administer the boosters.

“I don’t think we have enough data right now to say that a booster shot is needed. Even for elderly and high-risk groups, we do not have enough data. We really need to have data that gives us an idea of the protection levels the vaccines provide,” NDTV quoted Dr Guleria as saying.

“Information is still emerging… it will take some more months. Possibly by beginning of next year, we will have data on what will be the type of booster shots and who needs it,” the AIIMS chief added.

Dr Guleria said that a call on the booster shot will only be taken after data indicate that the vaccine has reached a “waning point”.

“Globally, we are seeing that people who have been vaccinated continue to have protection from severe disease and they are not seeing a huge surge in people getting admitted to hospitals… in India too,” Dr Guleria said.

However, the AIIMS chief was of the opinion that India will need the booster shot at some point in time. “Will we need it from vaccines available? Should we look at a new vaccine or the same vaccine? Should we mix the vaccines as a booster? This is the information that is still emerging,” he added.

This comes after the world health body said that current data does not show that COVID-19 booster shots are needed. So far, more than 58 crore vaccine doses have been administered in India.